Faith and Trusting

 

When each morning awakens

Lord, give us faith

And as the day progresses

Lord, keep us safe.

 

Help us to go beyond faith

To the point of trust

And help us to do so

With less stress and fuss.

Teach us the difference

Between faith and trust

And that one without the other

Is never enough.

 

Give us faith to believe

In you all things are possible

And to trust you always

Even in the heat of our trial.

 

Help our unbelief

When our faith is waning

And boost out spirit Lord

When our trust is declining.

Help us to recognize

That faith is the boost

But trust is our walk with you

With or without tangible proof.

 

So, when we are down

Pick us up, Lord, we pray

And regardless of the outcome,

May we trust you this day.

For you are the giver

Of the faith we need for today

And in everything we trust you

Even if it doesn’t go our way.

 

Stewart Russell © September 7, 2020

 

Trust God Regardless of Outcomes

 

 

An extraordinary year

In so many ways,

2020 has been problematic

Almost every day.

 

Ordinarily we do not know

What a day will bring

But it has been exceptional

Regarding 2020’s sting.

 

The greatest sting of all

No doubt, has been COVID

And at the end of the year

It will be stinging still.

 

Our faith has been tested

In more ways than one

And over the year

Some loved ones have gone.

 

It is quite normal

For old stalwarts to pass on

But this year our hearts hurt

For some children are gone.

 

The Wesleyan church family

Has taken a hard hit

And two of their deceased

Were not even sick.

 

 

Two died at the hands

Of deranged human beings,

Numbered among the murders

We’ve been recently seeing.

The others confronted challenges

To which they would finally yield,

Prayers went up aplenty

But they were not healed.

  

Which brings me to the title

Of this present poem

That seeks to enlighten us

When we lack understanding.

 

It is hard for a child

When a mother or father dies,

But this is the accepted norm

Which no one denies.

 

 

But when the child passes

There is so much more grief

That it is a very long time

Before the parents find relief.

 

No parent looks forward

To burying a child

But I can recall five such cases

That 2020 provides.

 

Christoff and Tanya:

Two by the murdered route,

Sharika, Joshua and Shaunelle:

Sickness took them out.

 

Regarding the sick ones

No doubt there were prayers

Like I said, prayers aplenty

Each and every day.

 

 

There were prayers for healing

Believing God would hear

But all three of them died

Yet God was there.

 

Was our God unable

To heal these lovely children?

For, if in fact he was,

Then we have a problem.

 

Clearly, He was not

But he allowed them to die

And do not expect me to explain

Because I do not know why.

 

We could beat up our chest

For not praying enough

But I must admit

I no longer believe that stuff.

 

Yes, I am still at a loss

Why some die and some are healed

But to the Sovereign God

I continue to yield.

 

I have moved past clichés

Like God knows what is best

For while that is the truth

It does not ease the stress.

 

I know some will rebuke me

And question my faith

But in every believer, there is doubt

If only but a trace.

 

I think the key is to be real

And not pretending to be strong

For the “fake it, make it” crowd

Will always be wrong.

 

Trust Almighty God

Regardless of the outcome

And never in any circumstance

Ahead of Him run.

 

He does not need our help

Only our childlike trust,

And he will do what pleases Him

Even when we pray up a fuss.

 

Put your confidence in God

Not in your prayers

And remember, whatever the outcome,

Our God always cares.

 

Be confused if you must

But don’t ever give up hope,

Trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ

Is our only way to cope.

 

There’s much we don’t understand

First, we must admit

Then trust God to move us on

Rather than to quit.

 

To the memory of:

 Christoff and Tanya,

Joshua, Shaunelle and Sherika

 

To their parents,

To all relatives and friends

And to every reader,

Trust God regardless of outcomes

 

Stewart Russell © November 25, 2020

 

 

Bear in Mind

 

 

I am staying the course

If life be spared,

How long it will take

Is not really clear.

 

In a sense though,

I don’t have a say

For having said yes,

It’s the course I must stay.

 

I had not envisaged

It would be so tough

 But I must hang in there

Regardless of how rough.

 

A light at the tunnel’s end

I see amidst my pain,

I just pray and hope

It’s not an oncoming train.

 

There is a huge outcry

Of anger and of anguish,

Tell us when, do tell us when!

When will we get our wish?

 

Our wish for a better life

Our wish for comfort and peace,

A little ease from the struggle

 And much needed relief...

 

“Where there’s life there’s hope”

I’ve heard the quote

But what is the use

When it is so difficult to cope?

“Where there’s a will there’s a way”

That too I have heard

But things are getting harder

And I am getting tired.

 

I must stay the course,

Something better is coming

But everything is going down hill

And little good is happening.

 

Hear my cry, please,

It’s the cry of the hopeless,

It is all coming apart-

What a terrible mess!

 

I could end it all

But that would make no sense,

It would only make bad worse

And be an eternal offense.

 

 

I was asked to stay the course

By the authority in the land

Who promised it’ll get better-

That’s the intended plan.

 

In the meantime, though,

I need some interim relief

Since, if I’m to survive,

It will take more than belief.

 

I am up to my neck,

In fact, the water has reached beyond,

I can no longer manage

Pretty soon I’ll be gone.

 

But I will stay the course

As long as I have life,

After all you had also promised

That there would be strife.

 

Some of our own making

And some otherwise

But I must confess a lot of it

Has come in disguise.

 

Like medicine, it was for our good

But I am not sure anymore

And a lot that is happening

Is vexing me sore.

 

But I will stay the course-

Like a loyal subject, I will,

But I want you to understand

That this is a bitter pill.

 

The truth be told

I am feeling quite rotten

But I hope when things get better

This sufferer won’t be forgotten.

 

It has happened before

And it can happen again,

It happened at some time

During each party’s reign.

 

I will stay the course

As long as I have life

But given the external indicators,

There is more oncoming strife.

 

Staying the course is a must

Of that I’m assured

So, I will hang in there

And hopefully I can endure.

 

Stewart Russell © March 2020

 

Newspaper Exegesis

 

Newspaper exegesis

Have you ever heard the term?

No doubt, newspaper you know

And exegesis you can learn.

 

Exegete is to interpret the word

But within its own context,

However, some use the daily news

To make meaning of biblical text.

Commentators affix Bible prophecy

To current world events

To show newspaper exegesis

Is often their intent.

 

Of course, this is eisegesis

Which is like having an agenda,

Their interpretation of Bible prophecy

Must fit their eschatological propaganda.

By now you should be able to see

This is a reverse of the process,

It is the cart before the horse

Which always creates a mess.

 

It’s like having a focus on Israel

And world events concerning them

And predicting as a result,

We must be nearing the end.

 

 

The rapture should have happened

Prior to the year 1988

Because Israel regain its nationhood

In the year 1948.

 

Based on the words “this generation”

Found in Matthew chapter 24,

The author of a million-dollar best seller

Had stated the rapture would occur.

 

His mathematics was simple enough

Given his idea of a generation,

Hence, his speculation of forty years

Led to his resulting problem.

 

Some tweaking had to be done;

The rapture didn’t occur on time,

Or, if indeed it happened,

Even he was left behind.

 

The forty years was stretched to sixty

And even more than this,

And how ever they speculate

They still continue to miss.

 

 

Even in this time of COVID-19

The speculations are rife again

And the imminent return of Jesus Christ

Is back up in the frame.

 

This is newspaper exegesis

Where the tabloids interpret the Word,

Using current events to interpret prophecy

To me smacks of the absurd.

 

And we are certainly not learning

Having been wrong so many times,

If we were fined every time we erred,

There would be a lot of fines.

 

 

No man knows the hour or day

These are the words of Jesus Christ,

Let the Bible exegete the Word

And this would more than suffice. 

 

Stewart Russell © June 2020

 

At Least Believe God

 

 

You mightn’t believe me

But will you also doubt God

That declares He created all

And reveals it in His Word?

 

Jeremiah 27:5

 

“I have made the earth,

The man and the beast.”

If you never believe anything that I say,

Believe God at the very least.

 

These three entities God created:

The earth, man and beast,

And after just six days of creation

From his creating God ceased.

 

The earth and all within it

Was created for His pleasure

And it should automatically follow

That he owns its entire treasure.

 

 

Psalm 50:10

 

Every beast in the forest is His

And the cattle on a thousand hills,

It is all God’s and God’s forever

And he can do with it as he wills.

 

Who are we to question God

Regarding His sovereign expression?

Rather, believe his sacred Word

And rejoice in His creation.

 

 

He calls us to be custodians

Of all that He has entrusted to us

And in combination with this

To honour His Son, Jesus.

 

Ephesians 1:4

 

By the Word God created,

Without Jesus nothing was made,

And every believer was secured in him

Before earth’s foundation was laid.

 

At least believe God

Even if you will never believe me,

“I have made the earth,” God says,

Meaning all that we currently see.

 

Stewart Russell © November 15, 2020

 

Ten Timely Tidbits

 

Let it not be said

That to same sex we are wed

For the Bible shows instead

That is a forbidden bed.

 

In God is our sovereignty

Not in the European unity

And I dare say decisively

Neither in the Monarchy.

 

If the Lord is the people’ guide

Then with Him we ought to ride,

Not allowing the devil to beguile

Which is fast becoming our style.

 

 

Do not before the Lord run

Or replace Him with the gun,

Following Satan’s lead is no fun

But the path to becoming undone.

 

Righteousness exalts a nation

But evil keeps it in subjugation,

Not a chance of emancipation

Far less that of reparation.

 

It will abundantly hurt

If we ignore the warning of the church

To follow so called experts

That will leave us in the lurch.

 

Right now, is the best time

To fall back into line

Allowing God’s Word to define

God’s meaning of “one mind”.

 

Though dark be the night

There is ample available light

To improve our sight

And to help us in the fight.

  

Let us therefore lay hold

On the Word that is like gold

And resolve to be bold

In doing what we’ve been told.

 

God’s Word is our only hope

If we are going to cope,

Therefore, let us now take note

And give to God our vote.

 

Stewart Russell © November 20, 2020